10 Important Guitar Chords for Beginner Player (With Finger Numbers)

Sets of chords

Even though you can mix and match these chords however you like (really, if it sounds good to you then it’s good enough), it will be beneficial if you know that they are compiled from 4 different scales (think “families”). You can also think of them simply as sets of chords that sound good together. The 4 sets are:

• G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em (let’s call this set G-major)
• D, Em, G, A, Bm (this is D-major)
• C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am (this is C-major)
• A, Bm, D, E (and this is A-major)

As long as you pick chords from 1 set (or group) you can play them in any order, and they will all sound good together.

F and Bm chords

F and Bm will arguably be your most challenging chords as they require you to use all 4 fretting fingers unlike the other 8 chords, however, both of them have exactly the same shape and finger positions so that should definitely help! Both chords are also without a barre to keep the whole compilation beginner-friendly. Their true names are F/C and Bm/F# respectively (so-called inversions) but you shouldn't worry about it—use them wherever you see written F and Bm. Note that one and the same chord can be played in numerous ways and positions on guitar. The variations of these two chords you see in this collection are a compromise between ease of playability and the way how full (or authentic) they sound. In other words, there might exist easier variations (or even substitute chords) or more full-sounding, but a decision had to be made which ones would end up in this collection.